The partners hope to capitalise on data showing eight in ten companies intend to talk to their customers via social messaging by 2020.

Both companies have seen signs of early take up with new business totalling more than £100,000 in February alone.

“Fore’s social gamification technology enables businesses and brands to vastly increase traffic to the top of the conversation funnel,” said Grant Fraser, CEO at Digitonic. “It is then down to Digitonic’s Yapper platform to move users down this funnel with a tailored conversation flow to achieve the desired result for the brands that we are working with.

“Both Digitonic and Fore felt that instead of trying to compete against one another, our organisations would benefit from combining our expertise to produce a more powerful and mutually beneficial offering. This approach enabled both companies to focus on what we are best at.

“This collaboration agreement is the first of a number of high profile deals that Digitonic will be announcing in 2019 with companies both sides of the Scottish border.”

Stuart Stott, CEO at Fore, said: “The partnership came about through admiration of one another’s technology and marketing campaigns, and instead of trying to mimic each other with challenger models, it simply made sense for us to team up and play to one another’s strengths.

“Both companies have huge international aspirations and the new partnership is big step in the right direction to achieving them.“

Representatives from both companies flew out to San Diego last month to spend six days at the Traffic & Conversion Summit 2019 – the largest marketing event in North America.

Currently employing 20 people at its headquarters in central Glasgow, Digitonic has ambitious targets for future growth, having increased its turnover by 44% in 2018.

Firms get Tech-X funding

Ten technology start-ups will share a £1 million funding pot after securing a spot on an Aberdeen-based accelerator scheme.

The Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) has announced the cohort of ten firms for its TechX Pioneer programme and each start-up will receive £100,000.